Applicant claims priority from French application 0007139 filed Jun. 5, 2000.
Smart cards, which are all of about the same thickness as a credit card and of about the same or smaller width and length, have contact pads on one face. A smart card reader includes a connector with an upper face and with contacts having projecting portions that project above the upper face. A cover holds down a smart card close to the upper face, so the projecting portions of the contacts engage the contact pads of the card.
The smart card has a longitudinal (front-to-rear) length longer than its lateral width. In prior connectors the card is intended to be inserted with its longitudinal front edge being the leading edge that depresses the curved projecting portions of the contacts. A connector of simple design and small size, which enabled more versatile insertion of the card, would be of value.
It is noted that connectors with depressable contacts are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/741,640 filed Dec. 19, 2000, and owned by the assignee of the present application.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, an electrical connector is provided for connecting to contact pads on a face of a smart card, which enables lateral sideward movement of a smart card into the connector. The connector includes a body with contacts arranged in a plurality of rows and columns, with each row extending laterally and each column extending longitudinally, with two contacts in each column. The contacts, which are formed of sheet metal, each has an upper section with a projecting portion that is bent into a long loop that is curved about lateral axes. As a result, if a front edge of a card in inserted to slide closely over the upper edge of the connector body, then the front face will easily depress the contacts. Applicant constructs the contacts so a card can be inserted laterally wherein its side edge moves laterally across the contacts while reliably depressing them, as well as the card being inserted longitudinally.
Each contact is formed of a strip of sheet metal and lies on a vertical centerplane that bisects most of the strip. The projecting portion of each contact has a curved top part for engaging a card pad, and has a lateral first side that extends at an incline so it extends downwardly and away from the centerplane, down to at least about the upper surface of the connector body. The incline angle is less than 70xc2x0 and preferably less than 60xc2x0 from the horizontal, so a card that slides in a second lateral direction over the body upper face, will reliably depress the contacts.
Each projecting portion is preferably nonsymmetric about the centerplane. The nonsymmetry results in a second side of the contact projecting portion, having a smaller lateral width than the first side, and with the top that engages the card being offset from the centerplane and lying on the second side of the centerplane. This results in a greater lateral width of the first side so it can extend at a smaller angle to the horizontal for a given available width for the contact.
The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will be best understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.